The prior art mechanical oil spill protection equipment consists basically of two main components;    An oil boom arrangement used for confining the oil floating on the water surface.    A skimmer used for separating the oil from the water and for pumping the oil to a collecting vessel through a flexible tube.
In an ordinary emergency situation, the oil boom arrangement is operated by two vessels (one at each end of the oil boom arrangement) while the skimmer is operated by a third vessel. In some cases, the skimmer can be operated from one of the oil boom vessels.
A challenge with this configuration, among other things, is to position the skimmer in the part of the oil boom in which the most of the oil (thickest oil slicks) is located while at the same time the oil boom vessels maneuver the oil boom together with the skimmer and against the direction of flow. This is shown in FIG. 1.
Moreover, it is always a challenge to ensure an adequate flow of oil into the pump housing of the skimmer, in particular in situations with poor weather.
Examples of prior art solutions for mechanical oil spill protection are found, for example, in U.S. Pat No. 3,666,098, WO 2004/025034, and WO 97/10388.